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Kirsten and I spent Easter weekend at my parent’s house, but slipped away for a few hours on Sunday for an exhilarating run on the beach. We drove to Pacific City, which is an easy 35 minute drive from where my parents live. We timed it to start our run at low tide so as to have a wide, flat beach to run on.

We arrived in between storms, so the weather was gray and breezy – but no rain. Leaving from the parking lot at Cape Kiwanda (near the Pelican Brew Pub), we headed south on the beach with the turnaround point being the Nestucca Bay outlet which is about 4 miles down the beach. The first 3 miles went a little slow with the headwind and getting our legs warmed up. Running in the sand (even the hard, wet sand) always feels sloggier than running on pavement for sure.

At 3.25 miles we noticed a major increase in wind and blowing sand as we ran right into the leading edge of a very strong storm. The rain started off light but was being driven sideways. I was leading and Kirsten was tucked closely in behind me for protection. I put my head down and pushed on a little ways further, but at 3.5 miles we decided to flip around and head back.

Once we made the turn the wind was now at our back and literally pushed us down the beach. Our pace turned from very slow to quite fast (and much easier). Kirsten said she would liked to have gone slower but the wind gusts were pushing her very hard. Needless to say, the return trip went a little quicker, and aside from my bare legs being sandblasted all the way back it was pretty enjoyable. It felt very surreal being on the beach, with the angry, dark clouds and thunderous surf pummeling the beach. It is one of the things I like best about the Oregon coast.

We finally finished back at the car, and although our run ended up being 7 miles instead of 8 neither of us minded much. A run on the beach in any weather is better than most runs, and I always feel great afterwards. We threw on some dry clothes, stopped for a hot latte and drove back to my parent’s house for Sunday dinner. It was a great weekend!